How can I run an executable from a CD when it doesn't have the executable bit set?

If the problem is that CDROM was mounted 'noexec' you can remount it executable.

sudo mount -o remount,exec /media/BDH\ DE/

See what kind of file has been given a bin extension.

file $filename

If it's not binary data, it's text. So what program is to be used with this file?

head $filename

The first line might read #!/bin/bash. In that case run

bash $filename

to execute it. Or use whichever program for which the bin file was written, python, for example.

If its not a script/text but a binary:

For 64-bit programs:

/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 ./program.bin

For 32-bit programs:

/lib/ld-linux.so.2 ./program.bin

Source:

"To execute binaries, use /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 ./program.bin for 64-bit programs and /lib/ld-linux.so.2 ./program.bin for 32-bit ones." – Comment from Lekensteyn on question https://askubuntu.com/a/17311/52853 Apr 13 2012